


Soaring, Spinning, Shining

by NyxieNoc



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Adam in spandex, Adam!Aerial, DJGreywaren, FamousAU, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-06-14 09:23:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15385725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NyxieNoc/pseuds/NyxieNoc
Summary: Famous AU where Adam does Aerial silks, Noah is a professional fund-raiser/event planner, and Ronan is Semi-famous Drum and Bass Dj, DJ GREYWAREN!Here's a link to the song referenced in the story! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZFDBn53krg





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, Im a drum and bass dj, so of course in my headcanon, Ronan's obnoxious techno in TRC is definitely drum and bass. I love the idea of a strong and agile Adam, but I dont like sports. Anyways, this is for Pynchweek18, hope you all enjoy! I live for comments!

“Adam!”

“ADAM!!”

“ADAM PARRISH GODDAMNIT!!”

Noah Czerny shouted and waved his arms twenty feet below Adam as he pulled his one earbud out to find out what the hell his problem was. 

“Keep your shorts on, Jesus,” Adam called down as he slowly, hand under hand, slid down the bright blue silk fabric to the floor below. When he set his feet on the ground, he wound the ends of the silk into a knot at the bottom which he then used as a makeshift swing to sit on while Noah launched into his frantic expulsions.

“Adam!! What are you doing next week? Say you're free, please, oh fuck, Adam you have to do this thing with me!” Noah couldn't stand still and was explosively waving his arms around, tightly clutching a neon yellow sheet of paper printed in large black block lettering. 

“I can't answer that until you tell me what its about,” Adam shrugged.

“No because if I do that you’ll say no,” Noah said, seemingly unaware that he’d just confessed he was about to ask Adam to do something he was definitely not into.

“Spit it out, Noah,” Adam rolled his eyes and reached to snatch the yellow paper out of Noah’s hand. He unfurled it and read, immediately recognizing that this was a flier for the large benefit Noah was putting together for the local battered women and children shelter. Noah had the brilliant idea of throwing a rave to raise money for the shelter. Noah thought it was brilliant and Adam thought it was a pain in the ass. Noah was always coming up with these schemes and plans, Adam supposed it was what made him good at his job as a professional fundraising consultant, which Adam had not known was an actual job a person could get when the two of them were in college. Yet, Noah had turned his lackluster grades into a bachelor’s in marketing and was working before graduation, and this was his latest pet project. 

“Can you perform next Saturday night, at the event?” Noah said in a huge sigh.

“Uuuugggghhhhhhhhhh,” Adam groaned. Groaning because he had enough on his plate, and because he knew he was going to say yes anyways. He held out before agreeing, hoping Noah would give him an out. 

“Please please please,” Noah whined. “I’ll never ask you for anything again.”

“We both know that's not true. Tell me why all of a sudden you need me at this party,” Adam asked dryly.  
“Ok so probably not true, but it's only because you're so amazing that i need you all the time,” Noah said, ignoring Adam’s eyeroll. “So the theme of the party is a rave, as you know... and... we just booked a super famous dj and now the party is going to be so much huger than I anticipated. He is even doing it for free, so we have budget for once. It can't just be people dancing in a quonset hut and bidding on silent auction items, now it needs to be, like, the party of the century. We can't have Dj Greywaren for tea and cookies. It needs to be amazing.”

“ I still don't know how this involves me,” Adam said, slowly spinning in his silk swing.

“I am hiring fire breathers and stilt walkers and contortionists. It's going to be so crazy. And I can pay you five hundred bones if you’ll do aerial silks for the event. Four hours, free food, five hundo. Please Adam?”

Adam was not turning down five hundred bucks but he made Noah wait anyhow. He started doing aerial silks four years ago because it was a good upper body workout that didn't require him to pump iron in a gym full of veiny bulky dudes who looked like they wanted to snap him in half. It was a quiet, almost meditative form of exercise. Later he learned that he would still have to go to the gym if he wanted to build the muscle he would need to actually be good at silks and Adam didn’t waste time doing things unless he could do them to the best of his abilities. Now, he occasionally taught classes and even less frequently performed. He loved to shimmy up to the top of the silks and hang out high above the rest of the gymnasium where no one could ask him for anything. Well, no one except for Noah Czerny. Roommates in college and now close friends, Adam, who said no to nearly everyone, never said no to Noah.

“Ok fine.” Adam resigned.

“Oh my god, really?!?!?!?” Noah shrieked. He lunged at Adam in his swing and knocked him backwards until they were both on the floor. 

“Jesus Noah if you injure me I cant do shit. Get off me,” Adam grumbled. 

“Sorry,” Noah rolled off and lay on his back staring at the ceiling. “There’s one other thing. I need you to wear all white,” Noah bit his lip and braced for a no.

“White? Why?”

“Because your silks hung up will be behind the Dj booth and no one will see you if you wear something that isn't black light reactive,” Noah bashfully smirked.

“Fucking blacklight? Jesus fuckin Christ. UGH.”

“And you need neon silks” Noah tossed in.  
“Fine. Fucking neon blue silk and white leggings. Anything else?” Adam said, covering his face with both hands in exasperation.

“You're a prince and I love you,” Noah cooed at him. He reached into his pants and pulled five bills bearing Benjamin Franklin’s face and handed them to Adam. “I’ll text you the details, but anticipate being there 9-1. You don't have to be up there the whole time, in fact, probably just during the Greywaren’s set which starts at midnight. So eat and schmooze and maybe there will be cuties there too.”

“Schmooze?” Adam resisted the urge to shove Noah.

“Thank you. It's going to be the best. We’re going to raise a shit ton of money for the shelter,” Noah grinned, truly in his element.

 

*********************************************

A few days later, the event was upon them. Adam had received excited texts from Noah all through his work day. After dinner, Adam took a disco nap ( a nap one takes before partying into the late hours of the night) then got up around eight to shower, shave his chest and arms to prevent friction on the silks, and pack his items for the short drive to the event space. The event space was in an industrial district of the city, all factories and warehouses. The building was a long, arc shaped structure, about two stories high. He gave the doorperson his name and he was marked off the list and let inside. 

Inside, neon was everywhere, and loud electronic music blared from massive speakers. Well-to-do party goers sipped champagne and ate bougie snacks as circus performers wandered the crowd in bright neon getup. Adam scanned the crowd for Noah. He spotted him easily, wearing all white head to toe. Slim cut white jeans, white boots, a white v-neck sweater, he glowed like a spectre standing close to the blacklight mounted on a nearby wall. He was speaking animatedly to a foreboding looking man who wore all black. His head was shaved and his jeans artfully torn, his black shirt looked painted on. Pale white skin made him look like a marble statue, one that was wearing a permanent bitch face. Adam had no idea where to put his stuff down and set up, so he had no choice but to wander over to Noah and his ongoing conversation with the stern looking black statue man. 

“Adam!!!” Noah shouted over the music as soon as he spotted his friend. He waved Adam over , his energy like a puppy on pixy stix. “Adam, this is Ronan Lynch, AKA superstar DJ Greywaren,’ Noah gestured at statue man who barely flicked his eyes up long enough to meet Adam’s briefly and giving him a terse nod of acknowledgement. Adam gave him a similar terse nod in return. “Ronan, this is Adam, your blacklight angel,” Noah finished. Adam nearly choked. 

“His what?” Adam gawped. 

“Well you’ll be performing above him while he plays, so you’ll sort of be like, an angel...” 

“Oh my god Noah, just tell me where to put my shit,” Adam groaned. Ronan gave them the subtlest of dismissive waves before heading for the bar as Noah dragged Adam to the depths of the building. Noah got his people to hook Adam’s silk to the ceiling and set the squishy safety mat below it. He showed Adam where to change when he was ready, handed him drink tickets, kissed him on the forehead despite Adam’s groans, and sent Adam along so he could continue to manage the details of the party.

When Adam approached the bar, Ronan was still there, sitting on a barstool like he hated it for being furniture. There were no other places at the bar Adam could stand to get a drink except right next to him, so he shouldered in and waited to make eye contact with the bartender. After ordering a virgin mojito, he tried to casually glance at Ronan and was caught immediately as Ronan was already looking right at him.

“Virgin, huh?”

“Yeah I don't drink before performing... I actually just don't drink,” Adam said, hoping Ronan wouldn't ask why.

“Me neither,” Ronan offered his bottled water to toast against Adam’s glass.

“I hope you'll forgive me, I'm not big into electronic music. Noah said you were a big mucky muck and I honestly don't know anything about it,” Adam said, somewhat shouting over the music.

“Ehhhhhhh, Noah might be embellishing. Im well known in very small circles of people who like a very specific sort of electronic music, and that's about it. I’m not one of those Skrillex motherfuckers. I honestly just play other people’s music for people who are probably on drugs,” Ronan shrugged before sipping his water.

“What specific sort is it?”

“Drum and Bass.”

“Yup, I am definitely not familiar.”

“It's more popular in the UK than here, so most gigs I play are over there. I have done some of the big festivals here, but I'm never going to be recognized on the street or anything. I like it that way.’

“Yeah you don't seem like a people person,” Adam said snarkily.

“Yet here I am talking to you,” Ronan snarked back. Adam nearly choked. Was he being flirted with? “So youre doing some sort of trapeze shit during my set?”

“Aerial silks,” Adam said, and Ronan just stared, nonplussed. “I'm going to tie myself into giant silk sheets and flail around up there.”

“Sounds legit, I’ll see you up there I guess,” Ronan said before dismounting his stool and stalking off without a look back. 

Adam took the now warm stool and retrieved his phone from his back pockets, opened the browser, and searched “Dj Greywaren wiki” and quickly found the article at the top of a list of many others. A quick scan of the other search results alluded to Ronan being more famous than he let on. The wikipedia article said he played in Ibiza, opened for major recording artists, had been on tour, and had a net worth in the millions. An image search showed professional publicity photoshoots of Ronan along with some print ads for electronic equipment that Adam assumed Ronan was paid handsomely to endorse. Speaking of handsome, Adam gleaned from the photos that the snug black tank and jeans getup was Ronan’s uniform, and that in certain pictures, a large black tattoo spread tendrils of ink past the collar and sleeves of the black shirts.

Adam had not realized how focused he was on the phone until he felt a slap on his back and Noah appeared asking if Adam needed another drink. Adam shook his head and tried to stash his phone, but Noah peeped over his shoulder and saw Adam’s cyber stalking.

“He is cute, huh?” Noah said, elbowing Adam in the ribs. Adam rolled his eyes but couldn't stifle the grin that came along.

“He’s straight as they come though,” Adam shrugged. He’d seen tabloid photos of Ronan walking next to a tiny woman the paparazzi had called “Blue” in several photos.

“Bullshit,” Noah scoffed.

“Explain this then, “ Adam produced the photo of Ronan and Blue, shoulder to shoulder, conspiratory looks on their faces as they sipped smoothies.

“Explain this then, “ Noah smirked, producing his own phone screen, which showed an image of Ronan on the cover of what looked to be like a gay culture magazine. The headline read, “Dj Greywaren- ‘Im gay, so the fuck what?”

Adam had no response. Gay or not Ronan was a famous jet setting Dj and producer, and Adam Parrish was psychotherapist who did Aerial silks in his spare time. This would be the one and only time they’d ever be in the same room, and that was that.

“Adam, you should chat him up. He looks scary but it's an act, he’s a big moosh,” Noah said.

“How do you know all this?” Adam raised an eyebrow.

“How do you think I got him to play this party for free? I've known him since we were kids. He and I grew up together a few hours from here,” Noah shrugged smugly.

“You might have mentioned that.”

“I might have. But I didn't. Well, I did, just now. Anyways, it's probably about time to get you ready to get up there, it's getting close to midnight,” Noah said, waiting for Adam to dismount the stool. Apparently Adam had been cyberstalking Ronan Lynch online for longer than an hour and he felt his face flush hot as he realized how badly he was crushing on a stranger he could never hope to know outside of this event. He chugged the rest of his drink which was mostly melted ice now, and followed Noah back to his bag with his aerial clothing.

Ten minutes later he emerged from a back closet lit with a single bulb wearing white spandex leggings with a dance belt underneath, and nothing more. He stretched out his muscled in the space behind the dj booth next to the squishy safety mat. He was in a demi-split with his elbow hooked around his back foot when he saw Ronan Lynch frozen on the spot, headphones around his neck, and a hard case of vinyl records gripped tightly in his hand. His face was a mix of something like awe and something like horror. The moment was just an instant before Ronan turned his back to Adam and busied himself talking to the outgoing dj and setting up for his set. Adam continued to stretch his limbs and shake them loose. Soon it was time to climb the silks.

Ronan took over the turntables with a loud rumbling hoover bass and whoops from the crowd as the house lights dropped and the dj booth and the space behind it were flooded in blacklight. Adam cracked his knuckles and addressed the silks. He stood between them, wrapping his forearms several times and then gripping the silk above him tightly in his fists, and began to draw his knees to his chest. He leaned back, still holding tight and extended his legs at a forty five degree angle from his body, then, like a slippery eel, flipped over while pulling up, wrapping his arms again. He repeated this until he was ten feet high, then spread his arms to his sides where the silk held him aloft above the crowd like, well, an angel. Dancers in front of the dj booth looked up in amazement and pointed excitedly. Adam was lit up like white flame, the white pants and neon blue silks made his skin look dark under the blacklights. He gazed over the scene until his eyes stopped at the dj booth where Dj Greywaren had noticed the people in front of him pointing and turned around to look up.

This time, when Adam met his gaze, there was no ambiguity, no horror, no resting bitch face. The face Adam looked down on was awestruck, simply put. Adam blushed and smiled at Ronan, only at Ronan. 

The moment burst like a soap bubble when the turntables required Dj Greywaren’s entire attention. Adam was glad the blacklight hid his scarlet red cheeks as he reversed his flips to slowly lower himself once more.

Over the course of an hour, Adam did trick after trick, frequently wrapping himself in the silks in such a way that he could swing or rest as he needed to be up there for an entire hour. He wouldn't call what he did dancing, per se, and the music Dj Greywaren played was not as melodic as most silk routine music was. Still, the thrumming bass and repetitive beat put him in a mental zone where he forgot there were hundreds of people watching and relied on muscle memory to rotate through well practiced movements. Occasionally when he stopped and posed in a particularly elegant and strong configuration, the crowd would again point, and again, Ronan would look up briefly between mixing tracks and adjusting levels.

Adam found that he quite liked the attention tonight, which was unusual. He performed to make extra cash but he did Aerial for himself. Usually performances were a matter of get in, get up, get paid, get out. He didn't interact with or even look at the people he performed for. He went through his most practiced tricks and didn't push himself too much. Tonight, the longer he stayed up there, the more motivated he became to see what he could do to get the crowd’s ( and by proxy, Ronan’s) attention. 

He began doing showy tricks, and threw in some stunts like sliding headfirst down the silks very fast and then jerking to a stop with his hair brushing the mat below him. He climbed high and held a full split without holding the silks in his hands, only having wrapped his feet. He did an inversion into a straddle split, and there were cheers. He peered down at Ronan who was involved in mixing and nodding his head to the beat just so slightly. It was sexy watching him in his element, and Adam saw the stern misanthropic persona disappear as he became completely absorbed by the beat. He even threw his arms into the air a few times when the song dropped in, and cheers rose from the crowd.

Surely the hour was nearly over but Dj Greywaren had superstar status and would play until he was shut down. Adam was distantly feeling the burn of tired muscles, but too high on this night to pay attention to it. It was a strange feeling, this high. He’d only felt like this a few other times in his life. A rollercoaster, the buzz after an orgasm, driving fast with windows down on a summer night, they were all similar but this was different and he wished it could go on forever.

Too soon he saw Noah approach Ronan from behind the booth and give him a tap on the shoulder and then a gesture towards his watch, then a hand movement Adam recognized as “wrap it up,” meaning this was about to be over. Ronan nodded and pulled one last black record from its cardboard sleeve.

Adam prepared for a final trick. It was one he’d only recently learned, and it was risky, but like most of the men he knew, when there was someone cute, it was imperative to show off. Ronan mixed in the last track and Adam listened, hoping to throw the trick when the beat dropped after the build. Centering himself and breathing deeply he listened to the lyrics:

Doesn't take much to feel the rush  
With nothing but your eyes on me  
How 'bout we do just like we do  
Two crazy fools just breaking free

No, it don't matter what we've been told  
I can see the skies are gold  
Yeah, it's just you and me and open road, let's go

I don't see no red lights, just a wild ride  
You're my getaway, you're my getaway  
Tonight, I'm gonna be alright  
You're my getaway, you're my getaway tonight

 

Adam wondered only briefly if this song was picked for his ears. The wonder lasted only so long because Ronan all but confirmed it when he turned and grinned up at Adam. Adam grinned back, climbing higher as the beat built to a crescendo. Just as the wave broke and the beat dropped, Adam released the hold keeping him in place and spun down the silks horizontally, the many wraps around his waist unravelling as he plummeted.

Too late he realized he was running out of time to grab the silk and stop his fall and he was running out of silk. Ten feet above the ground he found himself dropping much faster than he was supposed to, and in a flash realized he’d miscounted his wraps and spins, and had one more spin than he had wraps. His fingers clutched for silks and found air and he shut his eyes tight and hoped he was squarely above the padded mat below.

He landed not with the smack of flesh on vinyl mat, but with an “oof” followed by a grumble of “Christ’s Tits” and Adam became acutely aware of the warm, firm, and elbow-y nature of the mat below him. He realized in horror that Ronan had caught him.

“Oh shit, are you ok?” Adam said, still trying to orient himself. When he adjusted once more to life on earth, he realized he was sprawled across Ronan Lynch who was flat on his back on the padded mat, grumbling.

“What the fuck man, I thought you knew what you were doing up there,” Ronan wheezed. Adam had knocked the wind out of him. “How do you weigh so much?” Adam scrambled to roll off of Ronan and distantly heard Noah on a microphone as the music faded out.

“Thanks so much everyone, let's give it up for Dj Greywaren!” There were cheers, and then “I want to thank everyone for your donations to the St. Agnes shelter for women and children. Drive safe and have a great night!” Noah finished before turning the mic off and sprinting over to the pile of limbs behind the dj booth.

“Oh my god, Ronan, what the hell did you do?” Noah shook his head. Apparently Noah and Ronan had some history with injurious behaviors in the past because Noah seemed only barely concerned and mostly annoyed with the familiar sight of his friend laid out on the ground wincing.

“Not me, this asshole tried to fall to his death!” Ronan said, pointing accusatory in Adam’s direction.

“Shit, Adam, are you alright?” Noah was now genuinely concerned. Adam checked and all his parts were still there, although he was sure to have a bruise where some pointy bone collided with his ribs.

“Yeah, I'm fine, how’s he?” Adam said, shaking his head to clear it.

“Unfortunately he is still and idiot,” Noah scoffed.

“I guess I should have let him just eat it?” Ronan sat up, glaring at Noah, then turned his scowl to Adam, “Next time you can just land on your own ass!”

Adam couldn't help it, despite Ronans menacing look, he burst out laughing. He laughed so hard tears squeezed from his eyes and he hugged his knees as his shoulders heaved. Noah was next to laugh as he plopped down cross legged onto the mat beside them. Lastly, Ronan couldn't hide the grin and the shake of his shoulders as he succumbed to the giggle fit that had infected them all.

“Shut up you guys,” Noah finally said when they had mostly recovered. “Adam, I have to wrap this shit up, do you have a ride home? I’ll get your silk back to you on Monday, unless you want to wait for the cleaning crew to come get it down for you.”

“Yeah, I’ll wait. Can I help you with anything?”

“No, I have hired help. Go get a shirt on though before someone dies of thirst,” Noah smirked.

“Ok. Hey, thanks for catching me, “ Adam spoke to Ronan as he stood to go get his bag with his clothes.

“You owe me!” Ronan barked back jovially. Adam walked towards the closet but looked back to see Ronan give Noah a murderous look which only made Noah laugh all over again.

Too exhausted to get out of pants and then into another pair, Adam just pulled his henley shirt on, and finished the look with an oversized hoodie. Still barefoot, he slung his bag over his shoulder and headed out to wait for the silk to be brought down.

The bar was shutting down but he managed to get a bottled water on the house before they cleared everything away. He found a folding chair and slumped into it. He gazed at the floor, the high from earlier all but gone, sweat drying on his skin and making him feel tacky and salty. He was halfway through the water bottle when his eyes landed on black Dr. Martens paused in front of him.

“Hey. This is yours, “ Ronan held out a large neon blue bundle, and Adam took it.

“Thanks, Im sorry, again, for you know, falling on you,” Adam sheepishly grinned.

“Far worse things have happened to me, “ Ronan shrugged.

‘Still... are you hurt anywhere?”

“Maybe a bruise or two, you have sharp knees. I will live to be surly once more tomorrow.”

“Im really sorry.”

“Don't be, Im the idiot who thought he could catch you,” Ronan shrugged. “Noah said you might need a ride home.”

“Is than an offer?”

“Did you need an engraved invitation? Yes, it's an offer, you coming or not?”

“Yeah, I would appreciate that.”

“I mean, you probably need help getting home since you obviously have no sense,” Ronan grumbled, but a smile still snuck out. Adam stood and they headed for the door, Ronan lugging the heavy vinyl case and Adam his heavy bag. They shuffled out the door and into the night, where Adam followed Ronan to a predictably ostentatious BMW in the parking lot. Of course, superstar Dj would have a hot car. Adam climbed into the passenger seat after tossing his crap in the trunk next to Ronan’s case.

In the car, the stereo came on when the ignition turned over. Adam expected more electronic music and was pleasantly surprised to hear classical music. 

“Don't look so surprised, I'm not some coarse plebeian with no taste. I got into electronic music because of classical music. They're not dissimilar, “ Ronan said as he reversed out of the space.  
“I'm just surprised you know who Paul Haley is,” Adam shrugged. The composer was one of his favorites.

“Now I am surprised because I didn't know anyone else knew who Paul Haley is,” Ronan said, staring straight at the road. “Hey, Um, where are we going? I mean, I don't mind driving aimlessly all night, but you look like you need a pillow in the worst way.”

“Oh, yeah, uh, get on the freeway westbound and take exit 43B,” Adam said, finding the warm car and the beautiful music making him sleepy. He fought to keep his eyes open so he could give Ronan the rest of the directions.

“So do djs have groupies or is that just rock stars?” Adam cracked wise.

“I mean, certainly there have been some very desperate and topless people escorted out of the backstage area but I’m not interested in that, its kind of icky. They don't want me. They want the Greywaren. I had to get a restraining order against one psycho stalker dude who tried to break into my house. Kavinsky. He looked like a rubber band, stretchy and weird.” Ronan said with a shudder.

 

“Turn left at the light,” Adam gestured feebly.

“What about you? Does, uh, silk-thingy performing get you a lot of girls?” 

Adam snorted. “Uh, no. I barely do it outside of the practice gym. I tend to avoid fraternizing when I do perform. Like you said, when you are a performer, people aren't into you, but the idea of what they think you are.”

“And what are you?” Ronan smirked.

“Turn right up here...I don't know. I'm an overworked therapist with more houseplants than friends and a lot of student debt...Its the brown one on the left here.”

“You live in a church?” Ronan said, parking in the space closest to the building.

“I live in the apartment above the church.”

“I guess that's fitting” Ronan smiled.

“Why?” Adam asked wryly.

“You being an angel and all,” Ronan grinned, and it glinted like a knife in the streetlamp light.

“Oh god, stop.” Adam rubbed a hand over his face and reached for the door. Ronan popped the trunk and circled around to the back of the car where Adam was already standing. Adam reached for his bag and attempted to swing it over his shoulder but his arms were done for the night. He sighed and began to drag it toward the stairs up to his door, calling over his shoulder, “It was nice meeting you. Sorry for falling on you, thanks for the ride.” He yawned. He felt the strap of the bag yanked out of his loose grip.

“You're hopeless. Let's go, come on.” Ronan shouldered the bag and prodded Adam up the stairs with a finger in his ribs.

“You don't have to do that,” Adam said through another yawn but he made no attempt to grab the bag.

“I know I don't, so shut up.”

Adam fumbled with his keys forever until he finally flung his front door open, staggered to the bed in the corner of the small studio space, and did a faceplant. Ronan tossed Adam’s bag into a lumpy chair in a corner, then sighed heavily as he tugged off Adam’s shoes and covered him with a lap blanket he found on the back of the same chair.

*************************************

Adam awoke when light came in through curtains that hadn't been closed the night before. His mouth tasted awful and he realized he was still wearing a dance belt and spandex leggings. He sat up to find his bag and shoes set aside and his extra blanket on top of him and the evening came flooding back. He groaned as he shuffled into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He’d fallen on Ronan, then bummed a ride off him, then made him carry his shit and tuck him in. Way to go, Adam, such a smooth operator you are, he thought to himself.

Schlumping out to the one room studio he found his house keys on the kitchenette table with a scrap of paper towel underneath, and on the paper towel was a note.

“Do Angels eat breakfast?” followed by a phone number.

Adam didn't know what to think. His tendency was to overthink everything, but for once in his adult life he didn't. He didn't think it was a far stretch to assume there was a level of interest there. And if there wasn't, he had nothing to lose. He dialed the number.

 

Thirty minutes later he was showered and dressed and headed out the door to the independently owned hipster breakfast joint. Ronan was leaning on a light post outside when he arrived.

“You look different in daylight,” he smiled shyly.

“Different bad or different good?”

“Not bad.”

“Wow, thanks,” Adam scoffed, opening the door and holding it for Ronan.

“Don't let it go to your head,” Ronan shot back.

They were seated and glanced at menus before ordering coffees and food. Ronan went for fried chicken and waffles, Adam ordered eggs blackstone.

“So, thanks for tucking me in and not taking advantage of me,” Adam smirked.

“You barely made it in the door. It was adorable actually,” and at this Ronan’s Irish complexion turned rosy.

“Oh ho! Noah said you were a big ol’ moosh and I didn't believe him!”

“Shut up.”

“No way, tell me more about how adorable I am,” Adam crossed his arms over his chest with a smug look.

“Now what would be the point of that?” Ronan said, squinting a glare that had no heat behind it.

“You're right, it might kill you if you did one more nice thing for me,” Adam said before taking a sip of his coffee. An awkward silence settled in, and their plates were set down before them.

“I never do this,” Ronan said as he cut into waffles with hostility, his eyes firmly on his plate.

“Eat waffles? Carbs? Combine sweet and savory flavors?” Adam said as he pierced his poached eggs and watched the yolk flow like lava over the spinach and English muffins.

“Are you single?” Ronan said, pausing his hands.

“Yes...?” Adam said, suddenly feeling overly warm in his hoodie.

“Was that a question?”

“No. I mean, yes, I'm single and no, it's not a question.”

Ronan cleared his throat and took a sip of coffee. After forever, he flicked his gaze up at Adam, who was frozen mid-chew.

“You really did look like an angel up there last night,” Ronan said softly. “I don't know if you date men, or if you're even interested...”

“Yes.”

“Huh?”

“Yes, I'm interested. Actually, very interested. Are you asking me out?” Adam raised a hopeful eyebrow.

“I mean, I sort of already did, right? I mean, we’re having breakfast, and I did leave you a cute note,” Ronan smiled, suddenly no longer angry at his waffles.

“Okay, but to be fair I was the one to sweep you off your feet,” Adam laughed.

“You knocked me on my ass!” Ronan laughed. “And you also fell on me.”

“So smooth. What a charmer,” Adam said sardonically as he rolled his eyes. Ronan was quiet again, but this time without tension.

“You took my breath away more than once last night,” Ronan finally spoke so softly Adam almost didn't hear over the din of the restaurant. But he had heard it, and his heart did a backflip in his chest and he couldn't keep the smile off his face. When plates had been cleared, he tentatively reached for Ronan’s hand where it rested on the table top. Ronan nearly flinched at the contact but then relaxed as Adam ran his long fingers over the back of Ronan’s hand.

They were both in big, big trouble.


	2. Burning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, Pynch goes to Burning Man and meet my OC's

Adam Parrish had been dating Ronan Lynch for a little over six weeks, and it was going really, really well...at least, it was when they could find time to see each other. Dating a superstar dj without getting stalked by a tabloid blog was a challenge, but even more of a challenge were their busy schedules. Adam had ends to meet and loans to pay so he worked long hours, weekends, on-call crisis shifts, and Ronan was in Chicago, Miami, Austin, etc. for this event or that. A few times Adam had come along, posing as Ronan’s assistant, just to sneak into Ronan’s hotel room after promoters and hotel staff had cleared out. It was kind of fun, and Adam never wanted to go to another concert in his life unless he could be backstage, general admission was for plebs.

It was on such a trip, this one to Palm Springs, that Ronan first brought up the topic of Burning Man. They were in the hotel room jacuzzi washing away the sweat from the show. Adam had even managed to get paid to do Aerial again and the two of them were giddy with exhaustion but not about to climb into clean sheets with dirty bodies. Ronan was making his duckie squirt Adam’s sternum, and Adam dug his toes under Ronan’s balls in a warning gesture.

“Don’t fuck with me Lynch, I have dexterity you don’t want to know about,” Adam menaced in jest. Ronan lobbed the duck, and it squeaked as it bounced off Adam’s forehead.

“I’d expect nothing less from you, I swear to Christ you’re Tarzan,” Ronan scoffed, grabbing Adam’s ankle and removing the immediate threat. He began to massage the ball of Adam’s foot, and Adam groaned, sunk lower into the tub and draped a washcloth over his eyes. 

“Keep doing exactly that, please.”

“I was going to, I'm trying to butter you up,” Ronan said, and Adam could tell exactly the shape of his grin even with the rag over his eyes.

“Butter me up for what? I already told you I can't take off a month to go to Ibiza,” Adam sighed. He hated saying no, and he really didn’t like when Ronan kept pressing things, making him have to say no again. 

“No this is just four days,” Ronan said.

“Where?” 

“The Black Rock Desert,” Ronan mumbled.

“What? Where the fuck is that?”

“Outside of Reno...”  
“Wait.... Ronan... Burning Man? Oh hell no-!” Adam sat up and pulled the cloth off his face, but Ronan didn't release his foot.

“Hear me out! Okay, like, we don't have to stay the whole time, just four days. We fly in and camp will already be set up. There will be accomodations, food, showers, actual beds, etc. We don't have to cram into a tent and shower behind the water trucks, promise. There are some friends of mine out there and they asked me to play at their sound camp Tuesday through Friday, then as soon as Im done on Friday night we can bail, and go get a hotel in Reno!”

“Oh uh-uh, naw. I’ve heard about this shit, these big money tech bros pay day laborers to run their camps and schlep their shit and clean up after them, thats dickish. I'm not doing that. I’m not going if we’re doing that.” Adam shook his head and furrowed his brow. Having been poor the majority of his life, exploitation like that made him sick to his stomach.

“No no no no no! Not at all like that! No! It’s... my friends have a camp, we set up a communal kitchen and we all take turns cooking one meal for the whole group. We ship our duffels to my friend in California, he packs them into his RV, which he’ll drive out there and we will share with him and his boyfriend, and they’ll drive it back. We’ll have camp duties like everyone else. I don't want to go out there like one of those tech douches. Balls to that.” Ronan said, sounding like a kid trying to beg for a puppy.

“So, like, no camp servants?” Adam said, eyebrow raised clear into his wet hair.

“None. Radical self reliance,” Ronan nodded. Radical self reliance was something he could get behind.

“So, wait, how do we get from the airport to the event? Isn't in the middle of nowhere? I can't imagine we can take a cab...?”

“Oh, babe, that's the best part, when I say we’re flying in, I mean we’re flying. Like squirrels.”

“What the fuck are you on about?”

“Skydiving.”

************************************************************************

“I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU TALKED ME INTO THIS!” Adam shouted, his face just inches away from Ronan’s, the roar of the plane drowning out his words.

“YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE IT, ITS AWESOME!” Ronan shouted back, holding Adam by both shoulders, his grin maniacal.

“IM GONNA BARF ON YOU I SWEAR!”

“THAT'S WHAT THE GOGGLES ARE FOR, PARRISH!”

Ronan, who’d done this many times before, carefully checked and double checked that Adam was securely fastened to him. Adam was trembling as he watched out the window at the plane flew over the huge three-quarter circle grid, a pinprick in the center, little ants swarming about it. They waited until they were clear of the event and over the empty gypsum flats before preparing to jump.

“OK PARRISH, ON THREE!” Ronan shouted, giving Adam a reassuring squeeze from behind. “ONE!”

Ronan jumped. Adam yelped and squeezed his eyes shut and his stomach lurched. He expected to feel like he was hurtling to his doom, but instead, he was so high up, he didn't even feel like he was falling at all. He began to laugh, building from a nervous chortle to an all-out roar an Ronan joined him. Adam could feel the laughter at his back more than hear it. He starfished his limbs out and cheered exuberantly, eyes wide and trying to memorize everything in these seconds. Moments later he felt the lurch of the chute, and they slowed, soaring down to earth.

When they tumbled into a pile on the ground and untangled themselves, Adam threw his arms around Ronan and kissed him hard. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so alive as he did right then. Ronan kissed back, hard. They were shaking from the muscle strain and hoarse from shouting, both of them smiling so wide they almost couldn't make the kisses work, but they managed.

When Adam’s heart had ceased to pound, he broke the kiss to take in their surroundings. The terrain was like a Sci-Fi movie, just white dust as far as the eye could see, a range of mountains very far in the distance. He was spacing out looking when he heard an engine and a melody that sounded familiar...an ice cream truck?

“Our ride is here!” Ronan said, holding Adam by the shoulder and spinning him around to face the approaching vehicle, which was indeed playing ice cream truck music, but was not a panel truck at all, but a gigantic orange rabbit, as big as a small school bus. Adam cracked up laughing as he recognized the tune, “Little Bunny Foo-Foo”

The Rabbit-mobile was posed like a rabbit low on all fours, its eyes were the windscreen, the grille of the vehicle painted to look like large white buck teeth. It drove slowly towards them, great dust clouds kicking up behind it, and pulled to a stop about ten feet from them. Ronan ran towards the rabbit, which Adam now noticed wasn't painted orange, but covered in orange faux-fur. Two people climbed from the cabin and trotted toward Ronan with joyously shouted greetings, and they convened in a group hug. Ronan Lynch was participating in a group hug. What. The. Fuck.

Adam walked over as the group broke apart, and he took in the strangers. One, a gigantic black man in a utilikilt, a shirt with a bunny on it, a straw cowboy hat, and brown furry bunny ears grinned with one of the biggest, warmest smiles Adam had ever seen, and Adam instantly liked him. The other person was a tiny little woman in all black with zaftig curves and hair woven with thick strands of what looked like felt snakes in shades of grey and purple. She wore fishnets and boots and a black tank, tattoos all over, and Adam understood why she and Ronan were friends. She had the same hard exterior covering up a cinnamon bun center as his boyfriend did.

The big black guy strode to Adam and Adam put his hand out for a shake, saying, “Hi Im Adam-” before the kilted bunny cowboy pulled him into a hug. Adam did not usually hug people and stiffened, but, then, as the hug went on, felt himself sinking into it. It was like, the best hug ever. When they pulled apart, another grand smile flashed and the man said, “Hi, I’m Bunny Joe.”

Ronan turned. “Shit, I’m sorry. Adam, this is Bunny Joe and Hunnydu, we’ll be camping with them. They're both DJs too.” Hunnydu waved and smiled before coming to Joe’s side and winding an arm around his waist.

“Welcome home,” the couple proclaimed.

*************************************************************

The drive back to the “playa” as the couple referred to it, was long. They could only go a few miles per hour due to the dust. The inside of the bunny, which it turned out was an old ice cream truck, was stocked with a dorm fridge filled with sports drinks and water, a mattress covered in sequined pillows and neon faux-fur blankets. Ronan sprawled out, and Adam sat cross legged as the four of them got to know each other. Ronan had known them for a few years and had been to Burning Man with them before, so they asked Adam a lot of questions. Adam found out that HunnyDu was also deaf in one ear, that they lived in California, he was an engineer, she did behavioral science with toddlers. They were funny, sweet people, and Adam liked them both already.

They arrived at their camp, which was an area about a quarter of an acre, ringed with Rv’s tents, geodesic domes, and a giant yurt that was made to look like a Smurf house.

“Tak and E-Money are in the one with the rainbow flag,” Hunnydu pointed, and indeed, there was an Rv with a patio of astroturf, lawn chairs, a white picket fence, some lawn flamingos and a leather daddy garden gnome. Waving in the breeze was a pride flag mounted on the side of the rv.

The bunny stopped and they all got out. From all over camp, other people gathered around, all of them in dusty clothes, many shirtless, some wearing ski goggles, a few nude people, lots of boots. They milled around and chit-chatted, several of them bid Adam a “welcome home” and he got more hugs than he had in probably the entire last five years of his life. From the perimeter of his vision he saw a moped pulling a skateboard with what looked like tiny monster truck wheels, a stout Asian man in goggles, with hair to his waist in thick cornrows being pulled along. The bike stopped and the driver unfolded like a Jacob’s ladder, all lean limbs, all in white. They saw Ronan and headed for him with loud greetings. Ronan spotted Adam and yanked him by his hand over to the newest arrivals.

“Babe, this is Tak and Emory, our roommates for the week, we’re staying in their RV. Guys this is Adam,” Ronan beamed.

“Hi,” Adam waved. Emory looked scowly but put out his fist and Adam bumped it. 

“Hey man, good to meet you! Hey babe, Ronan calls his boyfriend babe too! We’re gonna have to do like, babe one and babe two for the week or something,” the man called Tak joked, giving Adam a firm clap on the back. 

“Or, like, not.” Emory rolled his eyes. Adam knew he’d found his kin in Emory. 

“Come on, let's get you settled in,” Tak said, leading them to their temporary home.

 

**************************************************************

Tak and Emory led Ronan and Adam through the kitschy astroturf patio and into the RV. It was ancient, definitely from the seventies, and “cozy” but it was nicer than Adam’s apartment. Adam and Ronan were given the bed above the driver and passenger seat. The duffel bags they had shipped a week ago were already up there. Tak and Emory gave them a tour without actually moving at all, pointing out the shower, kitchen, their bed.

“So, don't poop in this bathroom, you’ll make everyone hate you. Take it to the port-o’s. You puke in here, you go home and don't come back. There are pickles in the fridge. Two minute showers, only one per day or we run out of water. If you guys are going to fuck, turn the lawn gnome around to face the Rv, and be sure to turn him back around when you’re done. Likewise, if you see him turned around, go chill somewhere else for a bit, okay?” Tak explained. Emory looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him.

“Thanks so much you guys, we will be good, I promise,” Adam said, his Virginia drawl slipping out just a skotch. He knew it worked on Ronan, but Tak didn’t seem to be significantly charmed. Tak was really friendly though, so Adam supposed he didn’t need to worry about getting the other two to like him.  
“It will be cool. So how did you two meet?” Tak asked as he pulled from the small refrigerator four sports drinks and offered them to everyone before opening his own.

“He fell on me” Ronan smirked.

“He caught me,” Adam said, elbowing Ronan in the ribs. Ronan had told the “An Angel fell out of the sky and kneed me in the gut” story any chance he got. Sometimes the way he lit up when he told it made Adam feel embarrassed, but not today.

“Thats...cute. Emory and I just met in a math class,” Tak shrugged.

“How do you two know Ronan?” Adam asked, sitting in the dining booth and opening his own drink.

“Well, Im a huge Drum and Bass fan so I’ve been following him on social media for years. One time he posted he was going to play where we live and I commented that I’d pick him up in my Acura Integra and he replied and said yeah. So we went to pick him up, went to a vacant lot and took turns laying patches of rubber all over the place, and after that, whenever he’s in the Bay Area, we try to hang out.”

“Is that how you met the other two Djs... Hunnydu and Bunny Joe, also?” Adam asked.

“No, they're locals and we know them from some beach renegade parties and stuff. They're like, our scout leader and den mom. Hunnydu looks intimidating, but she takes care of everyone. She always has bandages in her purse or headache medicine or sunblock. She makes us drink our pickle juice when we party too hard, smacks us upside the head when we forget to eat real food. She’s awesome.” Tak said, looking at Emory for confirmation. Emory nodded.

“Bunny Joe is like, the biggest nerd and its awesome. He prints a bunch of shit with a printer he built. He’s an engineer. The two of them have been married forever, they're ridiculous. We always seem to walk in on them making out.” Emory spoke. It was the most words at once Adam had heard from him yet.

“Well, I really appreciate you hosting a total stranger in your personal space for the week. Let me know how I can help with anything.” Adam said, still spreading the quiet charm. 

“They already like you, cut it out, Parrish.” Ronan said, pulling Adam to his feet and wrapping his arms around him from behind.

“So, babe, what do you want to do first?”

*********************************************************************

The list of things to do at Burning Man was inexhaustible. There was incredible large scale art everywhere. There were performances, clubs, service camps, a bowling alley, a skate rink... Adam saw a life sized version of the Mouse Trap game, and it actually worked! They rode bikes past many naked people, heard every kind of music imaginable emanating from this camp or that. They were offered beers, chocolates, foot massages, and temporary tattoos. After two hours of riding around, being a looky-loo, Adam was overwhelmed. There was just so much to see and do, and suddenly four days didn’t seem like enough time. Especially when he realized he needed food and a nap if he were going to see all the amazing things that happened at night.

“Ro, let's go back. I'm starving and tired. I need a disco nap,” Adam said, leaning his head on Ronan’s shoulder.

“Awww, youre broken already Parrish?”

“Fuck you, asshole. Feed me.”

“Oh I will.” Ronan smirked and Adam rolled his eyes.

“Must it always be dick jokes with you?”

“What kind of a question is that? Of course it must!” Ronan snatched Adam tightly to him and their eyes met. Ronan’s were vibrant with excitement before the lids sunk low and he leaned in for a kiss. They stood next to their parked bicycles kissing for some time, the buzzing scene around them just background noise as they fell into each other. Then someone on a rainbow tricycle rode past shouting, “GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY” and the two of them erupted with laughter, the moment popped like a soap bubble.

“Come on, let's get you taken care of, “ Ronan said, mounting his bike. It was around that time that Adam realized he had no idea how to get back to Camp Carrot, and followed Ronan closely. He seemed to know just where he was going.

“Ro how do you know how to get back?”

“Well, we’re at 4:30 and Helvetica. This it the 2:30 spoke, we need to go a few spokes over, then up to ring H. It's like a clock...., the spokes go from the center out, then every row has a name. This year it's fonts. They're alphabetical, A being closest to the Esplanade, which is where we are now. You better learn your landmarks though. People steal the street signs.”

“Goddamn hippies.” Adam grumbled.

“Here’s 4:30, see we turn at the Vampire bar, thats where Hunny Du plays, mostly.” Ronan said, still riding along like he owned the place. A few minutes later they turned left at a camp called Stiffy Lube, which was exactly what it sounded like, and a few dozen feet later were back at the astroturf patio. They parked their bikes in front and were about to go inside and scrounge up some Tasty Bite paneer masala when Hunny Du came up behind them.

“Hey boys, hungry?” she asked, holding a casserole dish covered in foil in her hands.

“Oh, we were just going inside to get something,” Adam began, but then found the casserole dish thrust at him. He didn't take it.

“You missed lunch, I saved you some. Now take it,” Hunny Du ordered. 

“Oh I couldn't,” Adam began again, but Ronan cut him off.

“Parrish, remember how I explained that Burning Man was a gift-based economy? That there is no barter or exchange, people just give each other shit? Well, it's happening, right now. Who are we to deny Hunny Du her offer? Take the fucking food, Parrish.”

“I- I just...” Adam had such a hard time accepting generosity. Ronan had explained, had prepared him for this but he assumed the gifts would be like, sticks of gum or condoms or something, not whole meals.

“Sugar, you can and you will. Before the week is out, I’ll need something and maybe you’ll be able to help. For now I’ll take a hug if you're cool with it,” Hunnydu handed the dish over to Ronan, then held her arms open, and Adam stepped in, letting himself be hugged by this new friend who stood on tiptoe and still only reached his shoulder. She gave off the kind of vibe Adam had always thought mother’s should be like. He felt like he was hugging a goth Molly Weasley. 

“Thank you,” he whispered. 

“Bring my dish back later,” she said and then strolled away. Ronan was already lifting the foil on one corner. 

“Parrish, this is fucking shepherd's pie,” Ronan said, grabbing Adam by the forearm and pulling him into the RV.

They ate straight from the pan with forks, and finished it all off. Adam didn't know how she’d managed to make this in the middle of the desert but something about Hunnydu made him think she might be some sort of magical mom-witch. His stomach full, he was drowsy and barely was able to take off his shoes and his cargo shorts and climb up to the loft and crash out.

 

*************************************************************************

When Adam awoke to the sounds of Ronan rummaging about, it was dark outside. Ronan had on a headlamp and headphones around his neck and was packing his messenger bag with his dj equipment. Ronan didn't bring records into the desert, and used software and hardware to mix live at events where the environment might damage the records.

“What time is it?” Adam mumbled.

“Its ten. Gonna come out tonight or stay in bed? Im playing eleven to midnight so I need to get going. BunnyJoe is waiting for me.”

Just then the door of the Rv opened and Tak and Emory squeezed in, both also wearing headlamps. Adam cocked his head like a puppy to take in what he was seeing. Tak was very tall, even taller than Ronan and Bunny Joe, and he was wearing what looked to be a shark costume. It had a hood with teeth, his arms were fins, and he had another fin on his back. Then Adam glanced at Emory. The stocky man was also wearing a costume...Adam thought to himself he had heard these costumes called “onesies” but he had never seen onesies like these. Emory turned and walked into the back of the Rv and Adam saw spikes. He was a hedgehog. Adam suddenly wanted one of his own. He fantasized for just a moment about and Otter onesie before he felt a tug on his hair.

“You coming or not babe? It's fine if you're tired.” Ronan said, clearly trying to supress obvious signs of hopefulness.

“I'm coming. Let me get some layers on and shit.” Adam rolled out of the loft and dropped to the floor. He pissed, ate a pickle, drank a sports drink, put on long pants and a hoodie, resting a set of goggles on the top of his head.He felt underdressed compared to the onesie crew. Oh well. He put on a backpack with a full water bottle, another shirt, his own headlamp, and earplugs. They heard the Little Bunny Foo Foo song and stepped outside the RV.

Bunny Joe was standing in the headlight beams wearing a coat that looked like he had skinned a muppet. Neon blue faux fur covered him like some sort of seventies pimp in a mink coat. He wore a neon green beanie with long lop ears. He had on goggles with yellow tinted lenses and was doing a little dance. Tak and Emory with their backpacks climbed into the big orange bunny, and Ronan pushed Adam out the door and shut it behind them before leading Adam into the art car.

Adam got to sit in the front seat. He gawked at the night scenery. He’d never seen so much neon. Every vehicle, bicycle, person was adorned with EL wire for night safety, and they got creative. They drove past things he had seen earlier in the day and they were lit up like Las Vegas.

“Where’s Hunnydu?” Adam asked.

“She is playing the vampire bar till midnight, then she is going to bed. She’s not a very good vampire.” BunnyJoe shrugged. They arrived and parked in front of a huge sound camp, music blasting so loud Adam thought astronauts in the international space station could probably hear it. Adam donned the goggles and put in his one earplug, then hopped out.

“Babe, you can kick it here in the VIP, there's beverages and probably a bunch of girls in booty shorts and bikini tops who are high and will either gab your ear off or try to make out with you. Or you can stand behind the booth with me. Or you and Emory can go explore. Up to you.” Ronan circled his arms around Adam’s waist and buried his nose in Adam’s neck. Adam slid his hands into the back pockets of Ronan’s jeans and pulled him closer. They were just softly exchanging soft, simmering kisses, not the frantic, tongue filled kisses that led to grinding and shortness of breath. Again, from somewhere someone shouted, “GAY!”

“I’ll stay for your set, and then we can take off and explore?” Adam asked hopefully. Sometimes Ronan bailed a gig as soon as he’d unplugged his headphones. Other times he wanted to see his contemporaries play.

“Yeah, we can paint the town red,” Ronan smiled and gave Adam’s ass a squeeze. They got cold waters in the VIP and Ronan had not been joking about the booty short girls, who swarmed them like flies. Many of them knew DJ Greywaren, others seemed to gravitate to anyone in the room. After the third girl in a row had backed up to Adam and rubbed her butt on him, flinging her braids in his face, Ronan simply took Adam to the center of the VIP, held Adam’s face in his hands, and gave him a long, sloppy, filthy kiss that made Adam’s knees weak. The girls mostly stayed back after that. Mostly. Some were very oblivious or very determined.

Ronan played an outstanding set to an exuberant crowd, Tak right in front, his shark suit tied around his waist, and Adam appreciated the view of his sweaty chest in the snug and thin undershirt he wore. After Ronan, Bunny Joe took the decks and Tak just kept going on and on and on. Emory had gone off to wander and see art on his own, not being into crowds, but when Ronan and Adam stepped out of the sound camp and into the Esplanade, Emory was there and gave Ronan a fist bump and said, “Good set, dude.” to which Ronan gave an appreciative nod.

“So we can go to thunderdome and beat the shit out of someone....we can play dance dance immolation, we can explore the man base, or go to the trash fence.” Ronan said as he held Adam’s hand in his own.

Adam assumed “trash fence” was another weird art exhibit or camp, and since he didn't want to be beaten up or set on fire, so he shrugged and said “trash fence.” Ronan, who didn't know that Adam didn't know that it was an actual trash fence, shrugged and said okay.

It was a long walk, the music and faded, the other burners fewer and farther between, the night darker and so still by comparison. They reached the actual trash fence and Adam shook his head and his shoulders heaved and he began to laugh.

“It's an actual fucking trash fence, Lynch? Jesus Christ.”

“Yeah babe I thought you knew. But hey... look up.” And Ronan held him close from behind as they tipped their heads back. The stars were so numerous, so bright out here. They turned off their head lamps and just looked up for a long time. They had not seen another soul in twenty minutes, and it was amazing.

“Ronan”

“Hm?”

“Its really dark out here.”

“Hm.”

“There’s no one around...”

“Hm.”

“Ronan” Adam whispered insistently.

“Hm? Oh. Ohhhhh....”

 

*******************************************************************

After their illicit adventures by the trash fence they wandered the long way home, meeting folks, stopping to look at art installations. By the time they got back to Camp Carrot it as nearly three in the morning. Tak’s moped was parked and the “ porch light” of the RV was on, but the Gnome was still facing the garden, so Adam and Ronan quietly slipped in. They brushed their teeth in the kitchen sink and shed layers until they were both in just boxers. Adam caught a vision of Emory asleep, shirtless, with Tak tucked into the crook of his arm. Those two were really cute.

They climbed into the loft and turned off all the lights and fell asleep like spoons in a drawer.

 

When Adam woke up this time, it was hot in the RV. He cracked his eyelids to peer over the loft’s edge to see Tak in just boxers, brushing his teeth while Emory made pancakes. Ronan was asleep sprawled out, mouth open, drool on his pillow. Adam wiggled free and dropped down, nodding at the other two on his way to the tiny bathroom. 

When he emerged, Tak and Emory were setting plates of pancakes and sausage on the table.  
“Coffee?” Tak offered. Emory was pouring it before Adam had even nodded. A glance at the stove clock said it was eleven. No wonder he was starving. Emory set the cup he’d poured in front of a plate and gestured at Adam to sit. Adam’s first thought was to say no, but remembered that this was supposed to happen, and acquiesced.

“Have a good night?” Tak asked.

“Yeah, you guys?” Adam said around a bite of pancakes.

“This slut sure did,” Emory piped up and Tak elbowed him.

“Em, Jesus.”

“Not my fault bass makes you horny. I'm just there for the fallout,” Emory smirked and Adam saw his arm move and Tak jumped when Emory squeezed his knee.

“Adam, are you also a bass slut?” Emory asked.

“I don't know what that is.”

“Im guessing thats a no then. What are you doing with Ronan if you're not into his music?” Tak chimed in.

“I mean he really did catch me. I fell during a trapeze act and I landed on him, he tried to catch me but that doesn't actually work. I was hired to perform at the party, I never would have gone to a party like that otherwise.”

“And now you're at Burning Man?”

“Looks like it.”

“How long have you two been dating?” Tak asked. Emory glowered at Tak but Tak waved him off.

“Um, four months?” Adam shrugged.

“So, like, is he the one?” Tak asked, giggling. Emory looked like he could scorch Tak with his eyes alone.

“You don't have to answer that Adam,” Emory said through an exasperated expression.

“Um... I mean, he’s certainly the most serious thing I've ever had going on...” Adam shrugged, then turned the tables on Tak. “When did you know Emory was the one for you?”  
Adam had hoped to embarrass Tak, but it hasn't worked. Tak beamed when he proclaimed without irony “Almost instantly.”

“Really?” Adam asked, stunned.

“Really,” Emory nodded. He rest his head on Tak’s shoulder and Tak learned to kiss his forehead.

“GROSS.” Came a loud complaint from the loft. Ronan was awake. Adam wondered for how long.

*********************************************************************

As one day blurred into the next, Adam found that even in this crazy place, there was routine. They slept till late morning, ate, showered, checked in with camp, then took off on bikes to see things. Dinner with the whole camp, then a nap before night time adventures. Tak and Emory turned the gnome backwards, Adam and Ronan did too. Adam fixed Hunnydu’s bike and geeked out about 3D printing with Bunny Joe, went on ice runs with Emory.

Adam saw amazing things. Ronan played awesome sets, but Adam also watched some of BunnyJoe’s breakbeat sets, and even caught Hunnydu performing in the vampire bar, playing music that made Adam want to hide under the bed. A few times he let himself get too hungry or dehydrated and cranky, and someone was always there to remind him to take care of himself. It was the closest thing to community Adam had ever experienced. 

It was Friday afternoon, the last afternoon there, he had gotten grouchy and rode back to camp, only to find the gnome turned around and the RV locked and jiggling. Even from outside Adam heard the rhythm of skin slapping on skin and jumped when he heard a low roar followed by laughter. He spun on his heels and walked away, not knowing where to go. Ronan was playing at another sound camp and Adam wasn't in the mood. He put one foot in front of the other and found himself at the big orange bunny.

“Hey Adam,” Bunnyjoe said, coming out from the back of the bunny. “Whats up?”

“The RV is rocking...”

“So don't come knocking?” BunnyJoe finished, and they laughed, as Adam nodded. “Well you can chill here. You alright? Hydrated?” Lord, he really was like the camp dad. 

“Probably not,” Adam sighed. 

“Well that's dumb,” Hunnydu piped from inside the bunny. She appeared a minute later holding a large tumbler and thrust it out at Adam. “Drink.”

Adam took it and chugged a big gulp before sputtering and coughing. “Is this pickle juice?!?!” He grimaced.

“Yes, drink it. If it doesn't make you feel better I’ll eat my hat.”

“Fuck it,” Adam shrugged and gulped it down. It actually worked. It was ice cold, and he needed it so much it didn't even taste salty until he’d had a whole pint. When he’d wiped his mouth and handed Hunnydu back her cup, he gasped a thank-you, followed by an epic burp.

Bunny Joe unfolded a chair and gestured to it, and Adam plopped down heavily.

“You know, we have known Ronan for a few years, from DJ stuff, etc. and we have never seen him this happy, so thanks for that, Adam,” Hunnydu said as she shifted to a new sitting position on the bed inside the bunny. BunnyJoe handed her a wet sarong which she draped over her shoulders. She squeezed his hand and he kissed her briefly.

“Well, I'm pretty happy too,” Adam shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

“Thats awesome. We remember what it was like when we were in that stage of our relationship. It brings back good memories.”

“When did you....” Adam paused, “When did you know? That it,... that you were right for eachother?” 

Hunnydu looked up at Bunny Joe, and he spoke first, “Around the first date or so.” He grinned. She smiled too.

“Really? Like, you just knew?” Adam asked incredulously. 

“Yeah, I mean, I she’s amazing, of course I did.”

“And you?” Adam directed this to Hunnydu.

“Yeah, I knew no one had, and no one could love me like he does. What else is there to know?”

“Adam?” Bunny Joe asked, an eyebrow up high.

“Yeah?”

“Do you know?”

“I...yeah. I do,” Adam breathed a long heavy breath through puffed cheeks. He’d suspected this, it was gnawing at him ever since their first date. It seemed crazy to think this way after just a few months of dating, but though he’d tested himself and tried to be objective, he kept coming to the same conclusion.

“Don't waste a moment, life is short.” Joe smiled his naturally beaming and genuine smile that Adam had grown to look forward to the last few days. Hunnydu and BunnyJoe were veteran burners, which was a delicate way of saying they were more than a decade older than most of the other campers, but Adam imagined that if they could be middle-aged and awesome, that maybe being a grown-up wasn’t as dreadful as it looked from where he sat in his mid twenties. Usually when older people offered life advice it was of the “play it safe” variety. Here these two advocated he carpe fuckin’ diem, and he had a ton of respect for that.

 

He hugged them both goodbye and walked back to the RV. Ronan was in a lawn chair out front, the gnome was still facing away. The Rv wasn't moaning or rocking anymore, but it was best to wait, probably.

“Hey”

“Hey” Adam pointed to Ronan’s lap, “Is this seat taken?”

“Yes, by me. Are you high?”

“No, you fuckin dingus, your lap.”

“Oh. Oh, no, go ahead, make yourself at home,” Ronan patted his thighs and beckoned Adam over. Adam sat facing him, straddling his legs, and wrapped his arms around his neck. “Oh...hey there.” Ronan said, wrapping his arms around Adam’s waist and blushing like a fourteen year old girl.

“Can I ask you something?” Adam spoke with a sly grin, though Ronan thought he felt a tremble in Adam’s thighs.

“I already told you I’m not eating any ass until we get to the hotel and have a bath, Parrish.”

“Fuck off, that's not what I was going to ask, you dick.”

“Well good, because I’m serious.”

“Im serious too! Shut up before I lose my nerve would you?”

“Ok ok, babe, sorry. Shutting up now.”

“Ok,” Adam took a deep breath and prepared to carpe fuckin’ diem, “Ronan, are you in love with me?”

Ronan’s cheeky grin vanished and his eyes flicked down to his lap, then back up. When they met Adam’s, they locked on. He swallowed hard. “Definitely.” His voice shook a little, and his previous blush had completely drained.

“Good.” Adam grinned so hard his cheeks began to ache. “That's perfect.”

“It is?” Ronan gave a tentative smile.

“Yup. I mean, it's a pretty important factor, considering. You kind of have to be on board or this doesn’t work.”

“What does not work? Adam quit being vague on purpose, you brat.” Ronan’s words said annoyance but his face said he was nearly overwhelmed.

“You being mine. Me being yours. Us being us. I’m in love with you too, of course.” Adam said, folding his arms across his chest smugly. Ronan leaned in to kiss him but Adam dodged. “No, wait, I'm not done. Look, I don't know how this will play out, I have my job, you have your world famous Dj thing, but, listen. I thought I didn’t believe in love, I was certain people were just saying they found “the one” because it sounds nice. I really, honestly never thought I’d find myself so absolutely certain that there was one person just for me. Ronan, if you tell me I’m nuts and you don't feel the same, I’ll be gutted, but I will live, but I don't think you will, Ronan. I can see decades into the future when I look at you. I see generations, I see us together, at the epicenter of our own universe. Don’t you?I look at these guys, “ Adam gestured toward the Rv, “And these two over here,” he jerked a thumb over his shoulder towards the big orange rabbit, ”and I see things I didn't think existed, things I want for us,” Adam finally had to stop for breath.

Ronan sat stunned, mouth agape, eyes wide. Adam used his forefinger to gently push Ronans chin up, closing his mouth. “Parrish if youre fucking with me, I will seriously blow up this entire city. You can't just say that to me unless you mean it. Don't toy with me,... I, I cant handle that.”

“Do you feel the same or not, Ronan?” Adam said, taking Ronan’s face in his hands and pressing their foreheads together.

“Of course I do,” Ronan breathed, nearly a whisper. “God, Adam, yes. I want all that, with you, I have for awhile. I just never dared to hope you felt the same.”

“That's it then. I don't know how it will work but it will.”

“You're really sure?” Ronan said, a solitary tear tipped over the waterline and slid down his cheek. It made Adam’s eyes prickle and he couldn't stand it a second more, he had to kiss him. He kissed him and kissed him some more, pressing together as if they could fuse their bodies together. When they stopped to catch their breath, Adam’s eyes had leaked while he’d had them closed. They both laughed nervously as they self consciously wiped their faces dry with their hands. Then they were startled out of their moment by the sound of someone throwing the door to the rv open behind them.

“Rated B for barf! Jesus you guys, you trying to make everyone cry?” Tak said in his booming and energetic voice as he bounced out of the RV and stood next to their chair.

“Were you... how much did you hear?” Ronan groaned.

“All of it. The window behind you is open. We were about to come out when Adam got here, and then, well, we didn't want to interrupt...” Emory said, emerging from the RV as well.

“So we eavesdropped!!” Tak exclaimed, looking like he’d won a prize or something.

“Anyways,” Emory said, offering his fist, “I guess congratulations or something?”

Ronan and Adam bumped his fist, then Tak’s. Then Adam dismounted and stood, opening his arms for hugs. Tak took the first one, and even the introvert curmudgeon Emory accepted one too. Then Ronan stood and offered his hugs too, and then the four of them huddled together, laughing as Tak shouted “GROUP HUG!” loud enough to draw several other nearby campers who ran over to join in, until Emory grumbled to be let out.

From across the camp Adam spotted HunnyDu and BunnyJoe walking together, holding hands and smiling at them knowingly.

***************************************************************

Forty eight hours later, they were in a hired car that was bringing them back to Adam’s apartment. They were sun baked, and despite several showers in their hotel in Reno, still had gypsum in their ears and between their toes. Their duffles were also covered in playa dust and a cloud of it poofed out of Adam’s when he tossed it across the living room and flopped onto his lumpy couch.

“We don't have to figure out every detail now,” Ronan said, sitting down with him and squeezing his knee.

“I know, I know. I just want the “rest of my life” to start as soon as possible now that I know what it is.” Adam smiled. He hasn't stopped smiling except to sleep since his proclamation two days ago.  
“We have forever, we’ve got time to plan. I am cancelling Ibiza though.” Ronan said.

“Really, you want to do that?”

“I never wanted to go in the first place. It’s just now I have a reason to cancel, Im moving my partner in with me that month.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like Tak and Emory, just wait until my book, "As Big As the Sky" is released in 2019!


End file.
